Spinning the World

Product Notes

Spinning the world notes: Released in 2004 with 11 original songs by Bill, an extra piano track, and 5 of the songs reappear as bonus tracks in a guitar/vocal setting. (Bill is sometimes asked when playing gigs if the CD's have a band or if the songs are done in a solo setting, so he decided to add the acoustic bonus tracks this time out. After all, when you have your own studio and the record label you can do whatever you want! A big time label would probably frown on the bonus tracks . . . .) Some of these songs go a little deeper as Bill stretches out in his writing. The listener will probably discover new territory with each listen. There's still room for fun though- it's not all serious stuff. Check out the hilarious 'Workin' Like a Dog' if you want to hear the lighter side. Over all, the songs each have their own mood and direction but manage to maintain a cohesiveness. Production is based around the songs too. With each song, Bill decided what the song called for, to frame it and deliver the goods. On this CD, Bill kept the personnel to a minimum so as to simplify the recording and keep a consistency throughout the record. After working with some of these players for ten to twenty years he says every record is even more enjoyable to record than the last. The musicians: (these players are the best!) Alison Prestwood, Nashville session bass player (Shawn Colvin, Rodney Crowell) Scott Meeder, Atlanta area session drummer who could play with anyone anywhere Barry Thrasher, defining tasteful guitar playing and everybody's first pick Joseph Patrick Moore, first choice for upright bass Rachel Kihn, a vocalist who would give them all a run for the money if she chose to go pro Bill Kahler, vocals and multi-instrumentalist playing guitar, keyboards, sax, mandolins, writing, recording the songs: 1. Time to Live . . . is all about moving on. No matter what happens in our lives, our job is to go on living. The song centers on continuing a life after a relationship but really is appropriate for any kind of change that might stop you in your tracks. There's a cool octave mandolin part reminiscent of Shawn Colvin's 'Sunny Came Home,' and some silky counterpoint vocal parts by Rachel Kihn. 'The past is like a shadow stretching out across the ground. When the sun starts sinkin' low it follows you around. The only power that it has is the power that you give it. Every second that we have is better when we live it. It's time to live!' 2. This Story is Mine . . . It's been said that if you hate someone, you're not only wasting energy but allowing that person to constantly be part of your own story. This song is about taking them out -maybe a rewrite of the story? Probably a new chapter. Lots of ear candy in this song- Hammond B-3, horns on the bridge, great call and response guitar work. 3. Little By Little . . . is a kind of 'everything sucks' song but with hope and humor. A really different take on an old adage. 'You're the big round peg that will not fit, coloring way outside the lines.' 4. Down In The Mine . . . was inspired by Bill's 83 year old father in law at 5:00 in the morning while visiting him one summer for a few sleepless days. (John likes to get up early, and doesn't care who hears him!) John worked in a coal mine and related the story. Bill thought it'd be cool to write him a song. It came out good enough to include on the CD and is a metaphor for folks everywhere who think their jobs are a kind of hell. This one is almost new- style- bluegrassy, but harmonically modern and some cool drum stuff, with a burning acoustic guitar solo in the middle. 5. Home . . . was inspired by the sort of vibe at Kerrville, (written on the way to the festival), where singer/songwriters sit around in campfire circles and play their latest songs until the sun comes up. The song suggests reasons why we should be open to those who may be different than us and covers early man and modern man's similarities. 'Without music spinning this world around, each heart would be as empty as a hole in the ground.' 6. Lucky . . . shows how it can be good luck to get hit by a car, and hey, it was the guy's fault for not looking anyway! This song is kind of a Cajun reggae toe tapper with a built in smile factor. 7. Workin' Like A Dog . . . When a friend of Bill's called and said he had been working like a dog, Bill looked over at his own dog, Poco, an 80 pound ten year old Lab, who was sleeping in the sun. Somewhere along in the writing, some really funny and sick lines came out and made it into the song. 8. From The Inside Out . . . is about having huge dreams, and going for it, not letting anything get in your way, and not believing people when they say it's not possible, and how it's o.k. not to fit in and do your own thing. Tom Petty-like production on this one really cranks it out. 9. Closest Thing To Heaven . . . is a really cool vibey kind of song that feels like you're sitting in a big overstuffed easy chair, sort of mellow and a tad bit jazzy, (definitely not jazz though) with the main message that love is the closest thing to heaven. This one will definitely take you on a trip for a few minutes and drop you back off. 10. Chair On The Moon . . . inspired by masterful songwriters like John Prine and Guy Clark, who can write the saddest songs with no self pity. A kind of lonely guy discovers he has a lot in common with the stray dog that's been hanging around his porch. At one point he thinks, 'the older I get, the less I fit in-I stop to think about it and I start to grin.' 11. All My Best . . . hard song to describe really, though it would make a great alternative to 'Amazing Grace' at a funeral. 'I'll take my rest, my time is through, no regrets, my love was true. All my best to you.' 12. Piano Reprise . . . improvised piece at the end of track 11, only about a minute long but very dreamy, and a good track to put in before the bonus acoustic tracks that follow. The acoustic versions are interesting because they give the listener the stripped down bare bones versions and demonstrate the way the songs sounded when the writing was first completed. 13. Time To Live 14. This Story Is Mine 15. Down In The Mine 16. Closest Thing To Heaven 17. From The Inside Out.

Spinning the world notes: Released in 2004 with 11 original songs by Bill, an extra piano track, and 5 of the songs reappear as bonus tracks in a guitar/vocal setting. (Bill is sometimes asked when playing gigs if the CD's have a band or if the songs are done in a solo setting, so he decided to add the acoustic bonus tracks this time out. After all, when you have your own studio and the record label you can do whatever you want! A big time label would probably frown on the bonus tracks . . . .) Some of these songs go a little deeper as Bill stretches out in his writing. The listener will probably discover new territory with each listen. There's still room for fun though- it's not all serious stuff. Check out the hilarious 'Workin' Like a Dog' if you want to hear the lighter side. Over all, the songs each have their own mood and direction but manage to maintain a cohesiveness. Production is based around the songs too. With each song, Bill decided what the song called for, to frame it and deliver the goods. On this CD, Bill kept the personnel to a minimum so as to simplify the recording and keep a consistency throughout the record. After working with some of these players for ten to twenty years he says every record is even more enjoyable to record than the last. The musicians: (these players are the best!) Alison Prestwood, Nashville session bass player (Shawn Colvin, Rodney Crowell) Scott Meeder, Atlanta area session drummer who could play with anyone anywhere Barry Thrasher, defining tasteful guitar playing and everybody's first pick Joseph Patrick Moore, first choice for upright bass Rachel Kihn, a vocalist who would give them all a run for the money if she chose to go pro Bill Kahler, vocals and multi-instrumentalist playing guitar, keyboards, sax, mandolins, writing, recording the songs: 1. Time to Live . . . is all about moving on. No matter what happens in our lives, our job is to go on living. The song centers on continuing a life after a relationship but really is appropriate for any kind of change that might stop you in your tracks. There's a cool octave mandolin part reminiscent of Shawn Colvin's 'Sunny Came Home,' and some silky counterpoint vocal parts by Rachel Kihn. 'The past is like a shadow stretching out across the ground. When the sun starts sinkin' low it follows you around. The only power that it has is the power that you give it. Every second that we have is better when we live it. It's time to live!' 2. This Story is Mine . . . It's been said that if you hate someone, you're not only wasting energy but allowing that person to constantly be part of your own story. This song is about taking them out -maybe a rewrite of the story? Probably a new chapter. Lots of ear candy in this song- Hammond B-3, horns on the bridge, great call and response guitar work. 3. Little By Little . . . is a kind of 'everything sucks' song but with hope and humor. A really different take on an old adage. 'You're the big round peg that will not fit, coloring way outside the lines.' 4. Down In The Mine . . . was inspired by Bill's 83 year old father in law at 5:00 in the morning while visiting him one summer for a few sleepless days. (John likes to get up early, and doesn't care who hears him!) John worked in a coal mine and related the story. Bill thought it'd be cool to write him a song. It came out good enough to include on the CD and is a metaphor for folks everywhere who think their jobs are a kind of hell. This one is almost new- style- bluegrassy, but harmonically modern and some cool drum stuff, with a burning acoustic guitar solo in the middle. 5. Home . . . was inspired by the sort of vibe at Kerrville, (written on the way to the festival), where singer/songwriters sit around in campfire circles and play their latest songs until the sun comes up. The song suggests reasons why we should be open to those who may be different than us and covers early man and modern man's similarities. 'Without music spinning this world around, each heart would be as empty as a hole in the ground.' 6. Lucky . . . shows how it can be good luck to get hit by a car, and hey, it was the guy's fault for not looking anyway! This song is kind of a Cajun reggae toe tapper with a built in smile factor. 7. Workin' Like A Dog . . . When a friend of Bill's called and said he had been working like a dog, Bill looked over at his own dog, Poco, an 80 pound ten year old Lab, who was sleeping in the sun. Somewhere along in the writing, some really funny and sick lines came out and made it into the song. 8. From The Inside Out . . . is about having huge dreams, and going for it, not letting anything get in your way, and not believing people when they say it's not possible, and how it's o.k. not to fit in and do your own thing. Tom Petty-like production on this one really cranks it out. 9. Closest Thing To Heaven . . . is a really cool vibey kind of song that feels like you're sitting in a big overstuffed easy chair, sort of mellow and a tad bit jazzy, (definitely not jazz though) with the main message that love is the closest thing to heaven. This one will definitely take you on a trip for a few minutes and drop you back off. 10. Chair On The Moon . . . inspired by masterful songwriters like John Prine and Guy Clark, who can write the saddest songs with no self pity. A kind of lonely guy discovers he has a lot in common with the stray dog that's been hanging around his porch. At one point he thinks, 'the older I get, the less I fit in-I stop to think about it and I start to grin.' 11. All My Best . . . hard song to describe really, though it would make a great alternative to 'Amazing Grace' at a funeral. 'I'll take my rest, my time is through, no regrets, my love was true. All my best to you.' 12. Piano Reprise . . . improvised piece at the end of track 11, only about a minute long but very dreamy, and a good track to put in before the bonus acoustic tracks that follow. The acoustic versions are interesting because they give the listener the stripped down bare bones versions and demonstrate the way the songs sounded when the writing was first completed. 13. Time To Live 14. This Story Is Mine 15. Down In The Mine 16. Closest Thing To Heaven 17. From The Inside Out.